Page 53 of Finding Home

“Tick, tick, little buddy, time to go.” Jace looms beside the table like a vengeful god, and it is sexy as hell.

“If you don’t leave, I’ll call the sheriff and get a restraining order. It’s time to leave, Curtis.” My voice rings with more authority than I feel, and I’m damn proud of that. In fact, suddenly I’m feeling strong, equipped to handle this, and so freaking ready to move on from the life that he has haunted for far too long.

Ding, the bell above the door rings, followed by the sound of Lizzie’s laughter. I surge out of the booth, placing myself between Lizzie and Curtis. It’s not necessary, I know. Jace has moved in front of me, and Blake is right beside him. Holding my breath, I tell myself she’s safe. Upon seeing all her favorite people standing there, Lizzie starts to hop up and down, flapping her hands in an expression of such pure joy that only a child could do, unfettered and unblemished by the world. A string of what might sound like gibberish or random sounds to someone that doesn’t know her bursts from Lizzie’s mouth as she greets everyone, her excitement bubbling over.

Curtis stares at her with disgust warping his features. “Wren, get Lizzie out of here.” Blake's voice cuts through the silence. The tinkle of the bell tells me she has been whisked to safety.

“That can’t be my child!” Curtis's voice rises in anger. “What the fuck is wrong with her?”

“Watch your fucking mouth.” Jace’s words are pure steel, eyes flashing.

“What the hell did you do to her? You worthless bitch, can’t even produce a normal child, she’s a fucking—” Curtis doesn’t get the chance to finish that sentence before Jace’s fist connects with his face. Blake grabs Jace’s arm as he moves to follow Curtis to the floor.

"He's not worth it, man, stop!” Blake roars, manhandling Jace who thrashes desperately to get to Curtis. After a few tense seconds, Jace draws in a deep breath and some of the tension in his stance slackens.

“I’m good.” Rolling his head, stretching his neck, and taking a step back from Curtis, Jace calms himself. Curtis, who is on the floor with blood pouring from his nose, is whimpering like a puppy.

“Get your ass up and out of town, Curtis,” I order.

Curtis drags himself from the floor, and a sneer, much like the last time I saw him in Maine, spreads across his face. “Gotcha!” He laughs, the sound manic. “I fucking got you! You assaulted me in public. I’m pressing charges, and my lawyers will eat you up. Say goodbye to your little boy toy, Harper. Oh, and maybe, I’ll take the child for good measure, might be a good sob story, taking in a kid like her.”

Jace lunges, but Blake is faster, stopping another round. He leans in close, saying something for Jace only. Whatever it is has him calming instantly, and…what the fuck, is he smirking?

“I don’t think you want to do that, pal.” Blake’s voice carries more swagger than I’ve ever heard. “Cause if you do, well, then I’ll just send these to Catherine.” Blake holds up photos of Curtis heading into a hotel with a woman, another of him kissing a girl at a bar, and finally, one of him in a car with yet another woman. “Oh, and my personal favorite is the recording of you admitting to embezzling from your in-law's firm. You really should learn to delete your phone history better.” A harsh laugh bursts from my mouth. Curtis’s face has gone ghostly white.

He recovers quickly enough, straightening his jacket, then looking right at me. “Fuck you, fuck all of you.” He spins, pointing to the crowd now surrounding us, then to Jace. “They’re all yours. You can have that defective child and her whore of a mother, I’m out.”

A round of applause follows him out the door. Wren comes back in with Lizzie through the back door. I meet them and take Lizzie in my arms. Wren is darting looks around the crowd, and I want to laugh, knowing she hates being out of the loop. Blake takes pity on her, pulling her to the side, and talking into her ear.

The crowd slowly disperses, and folks get back to whatever they were doing before. Jace walks over and wraps Lizzie and me into a tight hug. My little family. We only get a few seconds of peace before we are herded to a new booth, and everyone I love scoots in to chat and enjoy lunch. I know things aren’t over, and Curtis might still be an issue, but for at least a few minutes, I let myself relax and just soak up the love surrounding us.

Chapter 36

Harper

It’s been nearly a month since Curtis popped up like some demonic jack-in-the-box. He left town pretty quickly, and after I changed my number, I didn’t get any more texts or voicemails. According to Cass, he turned his attention to my family instead, showing up and begging them to help him see his daughter, and spreading the sob story of how my unhinged boyfriend attacked him. My aunt was pretty put out at his constant badgering. The worst was that my mom called Cass asking for my new number, but Cass promptly informed her that would never happen.

Blake’s “guy,” Bennet, did an amazing job. Not only was the proof of Curtis’s affairs enough to keep him from pressing assault charges, but it turns out the whole ordeal started because he and his wife were trying to conceive and not having any luck. Her parents had them sign a prenup before they were married that stated they wouldn’t release a portion of her trust until they had a child. Curtis had invested heavily in a new business venture that turned out to be a scam and was in desperate need of funds to bankroll his excessive lifestyle and cover up his blunder.

We decided to hold the information and not send it to his wife right away, keeping it in our back pocket in case it was needed. Turns out, it wasn’t. The accountant at his in-laws’ firm had found some inconsistencies in the books and hired a forensic accountant to audit them. Curtis’s embezzlement was found, and from the looks of it, it had been going on for years, before the wedding, even. He’s now in prison, serving a six-year sentence, with more crimes coming to light, and a divorce in the works. Karma’s a real bitch.

December started out rocky, to say the least, but once the Curtis situation was behind us, it has been a dream. We decorated the house. Jace insisted on doing the outside of the house, something I’ve never been able to do. Lizzie goes out to help plug them in every night. They are the cutest together. Last week, there was a crazy storm that buried the town in three feet of snow, something that almost never happens out here, trapping us in our house for several days. Can’t lie, it might have been the best three days yet. We had tons of firewood thanks to Jace’s brother coming into town while on R&R, and he, of course, insisted on a log splitting contest between him and Jace. Jace won and spent the rest of Caleb’s trip bragging about being the reigning and undefeated McConnell Champion. One look at Caleb and I could see the wheels spinning. Revenge would be coming, and Jace was going to pay. It was so fun watching them together, just another glimpse into the man I love. Their epic battle meant that even when the power went out for twenty-four hours, we stayed cozy and warm. Jace built us a blanket fort, and we laughed and played games all day, not even noticing the cold.

Jace finished moving all his stuff into my place, and we even started working on plans for the property he bought, designing our dream house, with five bedrooms. I rub my thighs together, recalling our last conversation over the house the other night.

“Don’t you think five bedrooms is a bit excessive? What will we even do with that much space?”

“I guess we will just need to work extra hard and fill those rooms.” His arms bracket me, palms on the drafting table holding the sketches, capturing me between his body and the table.

“Big ambitions there, babe.” Working my lip as the idea of growing our family consumes me. I hadn’t said anything before, because we haven’t been together that long, but I’ve been dreaming of the day I get to carry his child.

“I’m a very ambitious man.” The discussion ended there as we got distracted. Poor Blake walked in on Jace balls deep in my pussy.

“I’m not using that ever again. You owe me a new drafting table, you man whore!” I thought for sure that interruption would end our session, but Jace was not deterred, making me scream loud enough for the whole building to hear.

Shivers rack my body at the memory. That man is insatiable when it comes to being inside of me, and his favorite act of pushing his cum back inside me has my ovaries pumping out baby fever juices every month. I want more kids, but not yet. First, I want to enjoy being us, and in the spirit of being us, I duck into our room for my surprise.

It’s Christmas Eve, and the last guest from our Christmas Eve party just left. It was such a fun night. The crew from the job that started everything came out, and of course, Wren and Bree were here, passing out drinks and turning heads. I was so happy when Maia, the new hire, showed up. She’s quieter and has kept to herself outside of work hours since starting, but Wren is on a mission to bring her into our little fold. Tonight showed the progress she’s made with that endeavor.